NEWS RELEASE USDA Forest Service Alaska Region Contacts: Beth Pendleton 907.586.8863 USDA Forest Service, Alaska Regional Forester Norman Cohen 907.523.8157 The Nature Conservancy in Alaska, Southeast Alaska Program Director Krystyna Wolniakowski 503.702.0245 National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Western Regional Partnership Director Restoring Alaska’s Tongass National Forest for Salmon JUNEAU, Alaska– The USDA Forest Service Alaska Region, The Nature Conservancy, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation formed a $1 million partnership to enhance wild salmon habitat by restoring four Tongass National Forest watersheds in 2013. This partnership will accelerate restoration of priority salmon-bearing streams in Southeast Alaska including: Twelvemile Creek, Staney Creek, Luck Lake/Eagle Creek on Prince of Wales Island; and Saginaw Creek on Kuiu Island. It will also provide cooperative opportunities for a wide variety of partners and will provide jobs to support rural community economies. A combination of factors determines the biological productivity of each watershed. This productivity affects the capacity to grow large trees and support fish and wildlife. Most watersheds on the Tongass National Forest are in near-natural conditions, but some critical floodplain areas in important fish-producing watersheds are not. The Forest Service, in collaboration with Alaska Native tribes, conservation groups, and other resource users, prioritized the restoration of watersheds with the greatest potential for rapid recovery. The Tongass National Forest is America’s largest national forest and produces more wild salmon than all other national forests combined. The more than 17,000 miles of salmon streams on the Forest produce enough salmon to fuel the economic engine of Southeast Alaska. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, The Nature Conservancy and the Forest Service are making this effort so that Tongass wild salmon will continue to maintain its place of ecological, economic and social importance in Southeast Alaska. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation was established by Congress in 1984. It sustains, restores and enhances the nation’s fish, wildlife, plants and habitats. Working with federal, corporate and individual partners, the foundation has funded more than 4,000 organizations and committed more than $2 billion to conservation projects. Learn more at www.nfwf.org. -30- This electronic message contains information generated by the USDA solely for the intended recipients. Any unauthorized interception of this message or the use or disclosure of the information it contains may violate the law and subject the violator to civil or criminal penalties. If you believe you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete the email immediately.
